Kits Don't Lie
by Jenna-na
Summary: Bomba and Tugger treat their constant flirting like a twisted game. What happens when the game grows out of hand and breaking points become visible?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey all. This is my first fanfic so please help me to become a better writer. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cats, but oh how I'd like to.

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Bombalurina ran through the cold junkyard shivering slightly, goose bumps rising on her skin and making her hair stand on end. She dashed through the early morning air, trying to beat the sunrise and make it to her destination. She jumped up to the roof of the TSE1 car with ease and stretched. After a few moments, she turned to lay on her back and waited. Closing her eyes, the scarlet queen sighed deeply as the sun rose and warmth washed over her. It was her favorite feeling, the only thing that ever got her up this early. The moment of bliss was interrupted as a form bounded over to her, lay down practically on top of her, and nuzzled her cheek.

"What?" Bomba said, completely and utterly confused. She opened one eye and saw a bunch of black and golden brown. "Tugger! Get off!" she shrieked as she tried to shove him off.

"Awh, I was so comfortable," he replied to her attempts of relieving herself of him. He reluctantly got off Bomba and sat next to her, legs outstretched in front of him, leaning back on his hands.

"How did you know I was here? I thought I was quiet enough…" Bomba said. She sat up too and started to groom herself.

"Actually, you woke me. I was sleeping in a pipe and I guess in your rush to get here you leapt onto it, which resulted in a resounding _doooooonnnngggg,_" he said, imitating the sound.

"Oh. Sorry. So much for being stealthy, hm?" she laughed and lay down again. The sun was halfway up now, and she was enjoying the heat.

"So, do you do this every morning?" Tugger asked.

"No, just when I feel like it. It's the best feeling. You're freezing one moment and then it's so warm," she replied happily.

"I guess you're right," Tugger said.

"Did you just say that I was right?" Bomba asked doubtfully, eyes still closed.

"Yes, I just said that you were right. It's a rare occasion, so enjoy it, chick. I'm going to go visit the kits. Have fun sunning yourself." Tugger stood and stretched, a devilish grin quickly finding its way onto his face. He bent over, nipped Bomba's ear, then kissed her forehead.

Bomba's eyes shot open. That caught her completely off guard. She looked up to see a smirking Tugger and swatted at him playfully. She had hoped this was a normal conversation.

"Tell me you didn't like it without lying," he said as he went off without waiting to hear an answer.

"I don't know if I can," Bomba whispered almost inaudibly.

She sat in silence for a while after that, thinking over everything that happened that morning. What was supposed to be a peaceful, quiet morning turned out to be much more interesting. A few minutes later she heard squealing and knew the flirtatious tom had made it to the kits. The effect of the morning sun wore off soon after and she hopped off the car. It was her turn to tease him.

As she followed the sounds of the female kits, she thought. Her and Tugger's flirting had turned into a sort of game. Now, it was her move. As she neared the kits den, she slowed her pace and began to walk a bit more sensuously. She knew he liked that because no matter how hard he would try not to stare, he would always steal glances that ended up lasting for more than a few seconds.

The kits came into view, Etcetera, Jemima, Electra, and Victoria all squealing and shrieking, enjoying Tugger's presence immensely. Tumblebrutus and Pouncival were nearby up on piles of old furniture watching without much enthusiasm.

The female kits quieted and the males perked up when they saw Bomba approaching. Tugger turned to look for the object that stole his little fan club's attention and cause them to stop cheering. Bomba saucily walked up to Tugger and put her elbow on his shoulder to support her weight as she leaned on him. Tugger, being the attention seeking cat he is, did not appreciate being treated like an inanimate object and proceeded to push her elbow off him, causing her to lose her balance and almost fall. He caught her before she met the ground, set her on her feet, and placed his arm around her waist, getting a few pouts out of the young audience.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Bomba asked the kits. Tugger watched her every move.

"We _were _playing with Tugger until you came," Cetty said, the most upset about Bomba's interruption.

"Now, now, be nice. Let's play a different game. Bomba can play too," Tugger said and winked at Bomba. He caught her tail and started to twirl it around two fingers.

"I can?" Bomba questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"Of course. Just fawn over me, tend to me, and do what I ask. It's fun, really," Tugger said, as if it were no big deal. The male kits sighed and rolled their eyes.

"What are you asking?" Bomba said, practically purring, trying to ignore the fact that that was exactly what they were doing before she got there. She turned to face him full on. He place his hand on her face and the kits started whining.

"Not much…" he answered, lifting her chin upwards.

At that moment, Bomba slipped out of Tugger's grasp, pulled Cetty up off the ground and shoved her towards Tugger. Their lips met for a brief moment. A chorus of "kiss me next" broke out from the other three female kits, and Tugger realized that Bomba had been planning this all along. Cetty's squeal reached such a high pitch that the other five kits had to cover their ears.

Tugger smiled as the female kits all gathered around Cetty so she could retell her experience. Tugger left quickly in pursuit of the red queen who had plotted this whole thing.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Now honestly, I don't know how this works, but let's just say that the Jellicles are cat-cats to humans, as in walk on four legs, have paws, et cetera. From the view of Jellicles and other animals though, they're anthromorphic cats like in the musical, as in walk on two legs, talk to each other, have hands, etc. Kind of confusing, but hopefully you all understand.

Thanks for the reviews guys! You make me feel so loved. A special thank you to Tragic Memories and Bianca Mephisto for helping to correct my writing, especially the 'she' and 'her' bit. I'll try to vary it a bit more.

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Bomba quietly stalked about the junkyard, taking care to hide herself whenever she heard another cat. She was tired because she had gotten up so early and headed for her owner's house. There was always a comfortable bed and food there, plus it was the least likely place Tugger would come looking for her.

She knew Tugger wasn't too happy about the little stunt she pulled. Now that it was done and over with though, it was his turn, so she had to keep on her toes.

"Bombalurina!" called out a motherly voice. Bombalurina inwardly groaned and turned to face the matronly cat.

"Yes Jenny?" Bomba answered sweetly.

"Where are you going, dear?" Jenny asked.

That made the scarlet queen wince. Lying would result in Jenny finding out eventually as she somehow always did, and probably a big lecture. Telling the truth would give Tugger her location should he come asking around.

"I-I'm… going hunting," Bomba said. That sounded fake, even to her ears. Maybe she made the wrong choice. Oh, how she despised self-doubt. "Actually, I'm going to my owner's house. Just to stop by and make sure they aren't worrying." Well, half-truths were better than lies.

Jenny looked at Bomba suspiciously, then nodded and went back to whatever it was she had been doing. Bomba glanced around before bolting out of the junkyard, not wanting to be stopped again. She crossed the street and ran through a few human's yards until she reached her owner's house. It was small for four people, but it served its purpose. She raced across the well kept lawn to the door and pawed and scratched at it until it was opened.

"Licorice! You're home!" cried her owner, a woman a little over thirty. The woman bent down to pat her head. Bomba shuddered at the sound of the name her humans named her. Of all the names in the world, her owner had decided on the name of the most disgusting, vile human candy Bomba had ever tasted.

"Sissy, sissy, sissy!" came another excited squeal. Running footsteps could be heard soon after. A blond little girl, about four or five scooped Bomba up in her arms and gave her a cuddle. "Sissy's back!"

Bomba had to admit, the girl was cute, but was currently covering her with sticky gunk, a rather unpleasant sensation.

"Sara, go wash your hands please. You're getting Licorice all sticky," said Bomba's owner.

"Okay Mommy," replied little Sara as she placed Bomba on the ground and ran off to the bathroom.

Bomba took this as a chance to escape. She sprinted up the stairs to visit the boy that lived here. What she had gathered from past conversations between the two older humans (one of which was always at a place called 'work') was that the boy was not a child of theirs. Apparently he was living with them because of something called college.

The queen padded into his room to find him listening to a machine called an iPod. It was some sort of human device that was used to blast noise into your ears. Why people liked that she would never understand. She walked over to the boy and sat next to him.

"Hey Red. How've you been?" he asked. To that Bomba just mewed happily. "That's good," he said and touched the iPod, which started to make an annoying clicky noise. She left his room to find her bed and get some sleep.

Her humans had her area situated under a small wooden table with a lamp on it. She took a quick drink from the bowl of water that was there and leapt into the cat bed. Bomba closed her eyes slowly and drifted off to sleep. The last thing she heard was the door opening again.

About an hour later, Bomba woke because of a bright flash. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Another bright flash came and made her dizzy, even though she was still laying down.

"Sorry to wake you Red," the boy said. He was holding a camera, the source of the flash. "Sara wanted a picture of you and your boyfriend."

'Oh, if that was all…' Bomba thought, planning to go back to sleep. 'Wait, what boyfriend?' Right then the scarlet queen noticed the area near her back was warm. She turned around to find… Tugger. Tugger was in her house, looking at her with the biggest smirk on his lips.

"Red. I like it," Tugger said to Bomba, running a hand down her side.

"Tugger? How did you?" Bomba stuttered. A million questions were flashing through her mind, and she was dizzy again, this time not because of a flash. Tugger just lay there smirking at her.

"It's interesting how your humans think we're mates," Tugger stated nonchalantly.

The queen took a moment to register all this information in her head. Tugger was in her house. She still didn't know how he knew where she was or how he got in. According to her humans, she and Tugger were mates.

Bomba didn't know what to feel. She was confused, angry, amused, and annoyed. " I… Tugger!" she growled.

"Hmm? Hey, Bomba, you know you're all sticky?" Tugger said.

"Why are you in my house!?" she asked.

"Well, that was a wonderful trick with Cetty back at the junkyard," he stated simply.

That made everything a lot less confusing. He had surprised her. By allowing her to wake up and find him right next to her.

Right then, Bomba's owner came over to the two cats. "Oh, you two are adorable together. I'm sorry boy, but it's getting late now, so why don't we let you out? Don't want your owners to be worrying," she said. She picked Tugger up and set him outside. "Now, Licorice, why don't we get you cleaned up?"

Bomba looked at her owner. Cleaned up translated into bath. The red queen hated baths. She did smell fabulous and feel absolutely terrific after having one, but she hated getting drenched in water. Seeing as how sticky her fur was though, Bomba reluctantly followed her owner into the bathroom.

After the bath, her owner blow-dried her fur. "You're so pretty Sissy!" Sara told her repeatedly. Bomba smiled as she jumped on the couch to sleep. She'd go back to the junkyard tomorrow and figure out a way to get Tugger back. It was her turn again.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

?/?/07 - Hey guys! Thank so much for your comments. Since this is my first fanfic, it really means a lot to me that you guys like it. This chapter is kind of boring, so I'll try and get the next one up soon. Again, thank you for the reviews~!

1/9/10 – I'll try to get it up soon was a huge, huge lie. Sorry! I feel terrible. I'm getting back into writing this again (after three years…) so it will be updated soon! No lie this time.

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Bomba woke the next morning to find Sara curled up on the couch next to her holding a stuffed red cat. That was no surprise, considering the little girl usually slept next to her when she came home. Bombalurina smiled and got up quietly. The scarlet queen's coat was extra shiny and she felt great as a result of the dreadful bath the other day. She stretched then nudged Sara a bit. The girl woke up and yawned. She placed the stuffed cat on the couch.

"Morning Sissy. You still look pretty. You smell good too. I think your boyfriend should give you a flower or something," The little girl whispered, stroking Bomba gently.

What the girl said gave Bomba an idea. She hopped up off the couch and bounded to the door, hoping the girl would get the idea to let her out. Sara walked over to a bowl near the door and grabbed a piece of licorice. The little girl placed the abominable candy on the floor next to Bomba. Whoever let her out always did this; it was a play on her family name.

The queen picked up the 'treat' and headed out the door. She ran to the junkyard hurriedly, eager to get the horrendous taste out of her mouth. Once she reached the junkyard though, she figured instead of tossing it like usual, she would keep it and use it as part of her plan.

A flash of gold caught her eye near the entrance of the junkyard. "Demeter?" Bomba asked.

"Bomba! Where were you? Jenny said you went to visit your family for a bit, but you never came back last night. You look… really… nice," Demeter said, relief and confusion written all over her face.

"Oh. Well, my human's little girl decided to get me all sticky and so I was given a bath and stayed the night," Bomba said, failing to mention Tugger's visit and that she had planned to stay the night anyway.

"If that's all. Well, what's that you have there?" Demeter asked, pointing to the piece of licorice Bomba was holding in her hands.

"Licorice. You know, my family name, they think it's clever. Hey, Dem? Do you like licorice?" she asked her friend.

"No, but I hear—" Demeter started to answer, but didn't finish as Bomba ran off, thinking hating licorice must be a cat thing. "—Tugger does…." Obviously, the red queen missed this key fact.

Bombalurina entered the main part of the junkyard and hid the piece of candy in a pipe. She scanned the junkyard for the rest of the Jellicles, and noticed a lot of the toms were staring at her. Her plan was working so far. She looked over to Admetus and Misto and smiled at them, then proceeded to walk over to where they were. All the while they just kept looking at her along with one particular tom. Tugger couldn't look away from her. He wasn't even making an effort to disguise his staring. If he had been speaking with someone, there was no doubt he would have fallen silent the minute he saw her. Words couldn't describe her in his mind, but then again, he might have been slightly biased.

"You look really nice today, Bomba," said Misto hesitantly.

"Not nice, gorgeous," Admetus commented.

"Oh, thanks guys," she answered and looked to see if anyone was watching. Fortunately, the rest of the toms, including Tugger, hadn't torn their gazes away from her yet. In fact, the kits and queens were staring too.

The scarlet queen slowly moved closer to the two toms she was conversing with, which made them quite nervous. She kissed them both on the cheek and both toms started to blush slightly. Bomba left quickly, and to her surprise, Alonzo and Mungojerrie came up to her and complimented her.

"Bomba, you look terrific," Alonzo said quietly. She kissed him and he walked away smiling.

"He's roight ya know. You're extra beautiful today," Mungojerrie stated. Bomba kissed him too and walked away, kicking the hip swaying up a notch.

She slowly made her way over to Old Deuteronomy who was presently conversing with Gus and Skimleshanks. She kissed all three of them in a row. Tugger's jaw dropped. He quickly recovered and listened in to what his little fan club was talking about.

"Bombalurina looks so pretty today!" squealed Electra.

"I wonder what she did…" Victoria put in.

"We should go ask her! She really does look pretty," Jemima said.

"Hn. I guess so, but what's she doing?" said Etcetera flatly, not bothering to try and hide her dislike for the queen that often drew Tugger's attention away from her.

Tugger looked around. Everyone was talking about Bomba. He had to admit, she _did _look good, but he'd never tell her unless he was flirting with her. What did she think she was doing though? Kissing every tom in the junkyard? Was this some kind of joke? She kissed Old Deut, Gus, and Skimble for crying out loud!

Tugger watched in shock as she made her way over to Munkustrap. Everyone knew Munkustrap and Demeter had a thing going on. Well, so did the other toms, but Munkustrap was seeing her best friend.

Bomba looked at Munkustrap intently, patiently waiting for him to look up at her. She was making him very nervous, and she felt bad about it. The queen tried to calm him by making conversation. "Hey Munk, what are you up to?"

"Oh, just stuff. You?" Munkustrap asked calmly.

"Just stuff," She replied, using his words. An awkward silence followed.

"So… you look really great today. What did you do?" Munkustrap asked, having no idea that's what would make Bomba kiss him.

She did so, leaving a puzzled Munkustrap and a bad feeling in her stomach because of his involvement with Demeter, but it had to be every tom for this to work. She walked towards Pouncival and Tumblebrutus. "You're absolutely beautiful today Bomba!" They said in unison. Obviously they had planned on what to say before she came over. She giggled and smiled at them, kissing them shortly after. The two male kits grinned from ear to ear.

Bomba walked back to the middle of the junkyard and looked around for her next target, but then she spotted Demeter off to the side wearing an expression of disbelief. The red queen sighed, grabbed her friend's arm, and dragged her off behind some piles of trash.

Pouncival, curious to know what was going on, followed them and hid on top of a trash pile. Bomba faced Demeter and grabbed her shoulders.

"Dem, I have to tell you something. A secret. I- I think I like Tugger. Love-like," Bomba said seriously.

"It's about time you admitted to it! Your way of keeping secrets is awfully… bad if you ask me," Demeter said, making reference to the two's daily, excessive flirting.

Pouncival left after that. They were going to talk about Tugger like every other queen in the junkyard. But Bomba loved him? That wasn't something he'd ever heard her say before.

"Wh-what? Dem, I was kidding," the scarlet queen stated.

"Really?" Demeter questioned.

"Really!" Bomba replied, then proceeded to have a giggle fit, which caused Demeter to start laughing too.

"Wait, why were you kissing everyone? Including… Munkustrap?" asked Demeter.

"Oh, sorry about that. I swear it didn't mean anything. It's just part of a plan," Bomba answered, continuing on to explain the intricate details of Operation: Exclude Tugger and then Give Him Something Gross. However, the detail that the licorice was the something gross never came up.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi guys. Thanks for reading! Reviews honestly make my day. If I come home and number of reviews is higher than before, I get absurdly happy. I shouldn't get so excited about something like that… but I do.

I'm trying to move the characters away from the innocent flirting in the first few chapters to try and portray their characters better. As you know, Bombalurina and Tugger aren't the most appropriate cats in the tribe, and some actions they perform in the musical are highly suggestive. Uh… you'll see more what I mean next chapter.

Last thing, this chapter might seem a bit different from the first three chapters (or maybe not, as I'm usually a bad and judging that kind of thing) as they were written in 2007, and this one was written in 2010. Sorry if you don't like the change!

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After the little discussion, the two friends walked back to the main part of the junkyard. The Jellicles, all curious about what she was going to do, watched intently. Bomba trained her gaze on Tugger and approached him. "Hey Tugger," she said casually.

"Hey Red. You look great today," he said, looking her up and down. He internally scolded himself for not choosing a better adjective. Great? That didn't even come close to describing how she looked to him. Then again, he wouldn't have used a word that was actually up to par with her appearance for two reasons anyway. One, such a word did not exist, and two, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing she had blown his mind.

Bomba glared at him for using the college boy's nick name for her. "Yeah, I know," she said, then turned to leave.

Tugger sat up straight and sputtered. He complimented her; she was supposed to kiss him. Why was he excluded? "Bomba, you're forgetting something," Tugger said.

"Am I?" she asked slyly, leaving Tugger and hopping up onto the tire. She figured Tugger would let the matter go and stalk off unhappily, so she was surprised to find him pulling her up out of her seated position not two seconds after she had made herself comfortable.

"Yes, you are," Tugger said, continuing to keep his hold on her hands after helping her up.

"And what might that be?" she asked, smiling flirtatiously, breaking her right hand free so she could lightly run her nails up and down his arm. If he was going to drag the issue, she might as well make him flat out ask for the kiss just to make him sound desperate.

"I think you know," he replied, pulling her to him and resting a hand on her bum, but still keeping eye contact. She cocked a brow at him as if to say, '_That's_ hardly playing fair.'

"I don't recall," she stated, playing dumb. The red queen grabbed his arms and placed them at his side, like one would do to a two week old kitten if they were behaving irritatingly by not letting go of one's leg. Again, she turned to escape his presence and headed for the large junked oven; this time, he didn't follow. It was obvious she wasn't about to give in. He let her win this round, but that meant it was his turn once more. He simply smirked and jumped off the tire, heading for the members of his young female fan club, who, once they saw him coming, erupted in delighted squeals and other high-pitched sounds of excitement.

"Bombalurina!" cried Jennyanydots almost as soon as the scarlet queen entered the oven.

"Jennyanydots!" Bomba responded in a playfully mocking manner.

"Very funny, dear. Do you have time to go scrounge up something fancy for a meal tonight?" the maternal queen asked.

"Why? Are you hosting some type of Jellicle dinner party?" she questioned half-jokingly.

"Something like that. We really ought to eat together more often, don't you think? Just try to find anything that's a step up from what most of us usually eat," Jenny replied, ushering Bomba out of the oven before she had time to protest.

Now that she was assigned a mission and really had nothing else to do, Bomba set out of the junkyard to visit the closest human eatery. Maybe someone would take pity on her and give her some leftovers or a slightly charred meal. She walked along, eyeing dry cleaning, drug, and clothing stores until finally happening upon a place with a lovely aroma emanating from around back. She went to investigate to find the kitchen's back door was open. There appeared to be a lot of commotion going on inside.

"Rat! Rat! There it is!" shouted a deep voice. A couple of thuds were heard, the sound of a broom missing a rodent. Humans were so uncoordinated. It was clearly very difficult for them to catch a mouse without one of those trap things. She rolled her eyes and sauntered into the kitchen.

"Cat! Who left the back door open?" shrieked a woman this time. The inside was chaotic. There were people dressed in white running around everywhere, crawling on the floor, on counters, their eyes searching the floor for something they would not be able to capture.

Her eyes caught movement and instincts set in. A flash of red went after the rat like a rocket and quickly managed to chase it out of the kitchen. She would have caught it too, if she hadn't been distracted by the sudden bang of the kitchen door closing. The rat was long gone, and now she was shut out of the restaurant.

Just as she was about to leave, the door opened and the head chef walked out with a piece of something that granted her nose a delectable scent. "Mille grazie, bella," said the slightly-overweight, friendly-looking chef as he approached her. He set down what smelled like a piece of chicken, but it was wrapped in a small piece of cloth for easier transportation, so she wasn't sure. The chef bent down and patted her head a few times to which she mewed happily. Jenny would be ecstatic when she found out what Bomba had gotten.

The chef returned to the kitchen and the red queen started on her trek back to the junkyard. She got whistled at by a few alley cats, but the journey back was relatively uneventful. Upon arriving in the main part of the junkyard, she found the setting by the oven completely changed. Jenny and Jelly had set up a small table, which was even decorated with a dark blue table cloth, and set out a variety of food from thrown away leftovers and fresh catches.

"Oh good, you're back. Just in time too. I told Demeter to go and round everyone up. What is that delightful fragrance?" Jenny asked, ogling the wrapped cuisine Bomba was carrying. The red queen set the food on the table and untied the cloth revealing not one, but four almost perfect chicken legs. Ever so slightly charred, most of the others probably wouldn't even notice. "That's much more than what I was expecting! Thank you, dear," said Jenny, walking over to Bomba and crushing her in a short, loving embrace.

The scarlet queen smiled proudly and managed to fix her head fur right before the first cats started sitting around the table. The kits arrived last in a group that had followed the object of their desire there. Tugger took a seat and glanced at Bombalurina; she gave him an alluring smile. The rest of the Jellicles had started chatting amongst one another while the rest of the food was arranged.

Bomba considered her seating options and regretted not choosing earlier. The only two choices left were between Gus and Jellylorum or between Tugger and Demeter. The first opportunity would probably provide very dry conversation that would bore her to tears, but the latter would force her to sit next to the maned cat who hadn't taken his turn in their lovely little game yet.

Her indecision was apparent. Perhaps sitting next to Demeter would help balance things out? It wouldn't be so bad with her best friend, right? Plus, what could Tugger do at dinner with everyone there? Her thoughts were interrupted.

"Come on, chick. I won't bite unless you beg me to," Tugger spoke up, looking directly at her and winking. Bomba grinned and situated herself between the two cats she knew best. Demeter greeted her with a smile, and then turned her attention back to what was surely a riveting conversation with Munkustrap.

Bomba leaned in so her lips were right by Tugger's ear. "Bite me," she pleaded in a hoarse whisper just to see his reaction. He raised his eyebrows at her. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted to, however, he thought better of it seeing as they were at dinner with everyone else and didn't want that to be his counter to Bombalurina's little exclusion act from earlier either.

"How about we save that for a more appropriate time and place?" he whispered into her ear. She looked up at his face with a questioning expression to gauge his seriousness. He just smirked at her, hiding whether it was a genuine suggestion or not exceedingly well. To say the least, it was a bit frustrating.


End file.
